7. Expiration of Covid benefits; and Canadian banks commit to environmental causes

1. Canada Covid-induced benefits (a wage subsidy and a rent subsidy (for firms and non-profits, not for individuals) are set to expire on Saturday.

If you follow the discussion whether to extends benefits, you can learn why governments find it easier to give money than to take them away. Most of the discussion is about hospitality industry, which still faces some restrictions. But the subsidies apply to all businesses that had a revenue decline of at least 10% since the pre-pandemic times. 

Of course if you ask people who receive money (or their representatives, for example business associations) they will tell you extending the benefits is absolutely necessary. This is an example of skewed incentives: they get the full benefit, but pay only a fraction of the cost, with the rest of the bill picked up by taxpayers.

You can read more about it here:

Canada’s COVID-19 benefits are set to expire on Oct. 23. Here’s what you need to know - The Globe and Mail

2. And on a positive note, the big Canadian banks signed up to the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Alliance, formally committing to shifting their lending away from projects and activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions “to align with pathways to net zero by mid-century, or sooner.” 

Opinion: Canada’s banks join Mark Carney, signaling a shift from the West’s fossil fuel dependency and delighting OPEC - The Globe and Mail